Maguan family: Rolito Go has not shown remorse

By Ira Pedrasa, ABS-CBNnews.com

MANILA, Philippines - Rolito Go’s frequent escapades in and out of prison are signs that he has not shown remorse for the killing of Eldon Maguan, the latter’s family said.

Go’s possible release from prison next year now puts to question the government’s capability to rein in criminals, Maguan’s brother Eliot told ANC on Thursday.

“Considering all the news reports showing how he constantly violated [the rules], he has not really been remorseful. Our family has not felt any remorse from him, there is no serious effort from him to apologize,” he said.

Ever since his brother was killed in 1991 in a road rage incident, Eliot said Rolito Go never said a single “sorry.”

He said the family does not believe Go’s story that he was abducted Tuesday night at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa.

Go finally surfaced on Wednesday night and alleged he was kidnapped.

Eliot said they are relieved Go is back in prison but “his abduction [story] leaves us incredulous. It’s hard to believe considering his history of constantly defying the law.”

Prior to his conviction, Go first escaped detention in 1994 at the Rizal Provincial Jail in Pasig. He was captured two years later.

In 2008, he finally became a “living out” inmate at the Muntinlupa prison. Go will reportedly be up for parole next year.

“We were shocked, we were not informed [of the parole]…We were confident that the government was aware that he was a notorious escapee,” he said.

This record should have automatically disqualified him of any parole, Eliot stressed.

While police has yet to finalize its investigation, the latest
incident concerning Go only highlights his previous record, he said.

He said Go’s sickness is an “unfair reward to just release him.” Go is suffering from colon cancer.

He said Go should be treated first before he is set free. “If [the treatment is not working], then maybe there should be a serious consideration [only] until that point that the sickness has gone beyond treatment.”

He noted that the family never opposed Go’s medical treatments outside prison, although they have raised the issue of security.

Still, government officials should be able to assess all the
circumstances, he said.

“It was always our hope that the government reciprocates our faith in the judicial system,” he said. He said they will have no problem if Go proves worthy of the parole and government follows the process.

He said, however, that the benefits Go has been receiving leaves a bad taste in the mouth. He noted also the “special press conference” given the convict on Thursday morning.

“It’s very difficult for the family to be receiving news after another how Go is getting the benefits,” Eliot said.

He said his mother, now 80, is going through a hard time because of Go’s escapades.

His father, meanwhile, died last year. “But his health was compromised by the anxiety and stress that Go has caused, not just the crime but his defiance of the law,” he said.